Winning and Losing

Naturally, I’ve been watching the Olympics on television but I’ve  been feeling uncomfortable by the constant focus on winning and gold. No more so than this morning with the emphasis on Emily Seebohm’s amazing swim and how she did not get gold!

These quotes simply make me want to turn off the television. “Emily Seebohm’s dreams of Olympic gold were foiled in the women’s 100m backstroke final this morning after finishing second to fast-finishing American Missy Franklin.”  & “A tearful Seebohm was visibly distraught after the race, saying she believed she could have finished better.”

The media used words like ‘devastated’ and I wondered why they would use these words? Devastation is what we experienced first hand here in Queensland and with the 2011 January Floods!
Since when is it devastating to win a SILVER MEDAL AT THE OLYMPICS. This is not failure this is a FANTASTIC achievement. To actually make the Olympic team and compete means you are right at the top of the world in your chosen sport, again I repeat, an incredible achievement.

Of course it is only natural that Emily would be disappointed, even crushingly disappointed, and you don’t blame her tears considering all the hype around her heat, but please not devastated. I assume as an elite athlete she will have help to put it all into perspective and be very proud of her Silver medal. She is so young and will likely have another Olympics ahead of her.

This focus on winning has become so obsessive that people lose sight of the important goal. The Olympic Creed reads: “The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well.”

Sadly, I’ve seen this ‘winning at all cost’ attitude so many times in my life. I became so tired of the complaining made by some competitors  at horse shows that I avoided them. I watch fierce,  facial expressions and the bubbling rage when some competitors are not awarded the Championship followed by the ridiculous behaviour at a loss. It’s sport for goodness sake but I wonder if there is also an element of fear. Fear of not achieving your goals, fear of not getting the right endorsements to make money? Who knows? My favourite quote tells me that all negativity is derived from fear and I have this quote on my wish wall where I can glance at it every day. It says “Stop being upset… All negativity is derived from fear. What you are afraid of is that a situation will not be solved in a way that serves you. The Universe is bigger than the problem and can heal all.”

So I guess the next question is, what’s more important, winning or losing? Many people choose only to win whereas I’d rather allow destiny to play a part. With winning, you gain a fleeting confidence, a boost to your self esteem and happiness from achieving your immediate goal. But losing doesn’t mean you always go home empty handed; maybe instead you should go home thinking that you can never really lose in the race of life you just gain more experience.